Reading Fiction?
by annanorton
Summary: What happens when the 7 and a few others read the Harry Potter books? What about when the Golden Trio and Ginny read the Percy Jackson books? Finally, what happens when these two extraordinary groups meet? Find out in Reading... Fiction?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

* * *

Hermione's POV:

* * *

I was in a Muggle library looking for a good book to read, preferably a series so it will take longer to read when I came across a 5 book series called Percy Jackson. I decided to grab them, since the library was closing soon.

I walked outside and apparated to the Burrow, where I was met by Hagrid.

" 'Ello Hermione!" Hagrid said, pleasantly.

"Hello Hagrid!" I responded cheerily. All of a sudden, Ron came running out of the house.

"Hermione!" He yelled, running toward me and enveloping me in a hug.

"Ronald!" I exclaimed, laughing. "It's good to see you too."

"Hagrid." Ron said, shaking Hagrid's hand, or rather, having Hagrid shake his arm.

" 'Ello there Ron! How's Charlie been?" Hagrid asked.

"Fine." said Ron.

"Let's go inside, shall we?" Ron asked as Hagrid and I followed him in. When I walked inside, the first thing I did was visit the kitchen where I was almost certain to find Mrs. Weasly.

"Mrs. Weasly!" I exclaimed, excitedly.

"Oh, Hermione, dear!" Mrs. Weasly said, "I saw your trunks this morning but I wasn't sure when you would be arriving! I'm sure Ron's very excited your here dear."

Ron blushed beat red, "Mum!"

I chuckled, "As was I Mrs. Weasly."

All of a sudden, Harry, Ginny and George came thundering down the stairs.

"Hermione." Harry breathed.

"Hermione's back. Hermione's back. Hermione's back." Ginny and George chanted, but stopped abruptly, when they remembered doing a similar thing when Harry got off trial from performing the _expecto patronum _charm, only that time, it was with Fred.

Ron seemed to have felt the tension as well.

He awkwardly cleared his throat and asked, "So, mum, what's for dinner?"

Harry chuckled dryly, "You still haven't changed have you Ron?"

"Ginny - " Hermione started to say but was cut off by Hagrid saying loudly, "Well, Molly, I best be off. I only came to say hello. I've got important business elsewhere."

"Alright Hagrid. We'll be seeing you soon I trust?" Mrs. Weasly inquired.

"We'll see, Molly, we'll see." Hagrid muttered.

"See ya, Hagrid," Everyone muttered and with that, Hagrid turned around and disappeared through the Weasly's door.

"Come on guys." I said to Harry, Ron, Ginny and George, "Let's go upstairs." Everyone, excluding Mrs. Weasly, turned around and made their way up to Harry and Ron's room.

You see, after the Battle of Hogwarts, as everyone was calling it (it was either that or the Final Battle), Harry had no home because the Dursely's had been relocated and Harry had no wish to go through the trouble of tracking them down and living with them, so the Weasly's offered to take him in. He's been living with them ever since.

On the way up to Ron and Harry's room, I dropped off 4 of the 5 books that I had gotten from the library - I kept the first one Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.

As I listened to Harry, Ron, and George ramble aimlessly about Quidditch and watched Ginny play with Ron's owl, Pig, I decided to start reading my book.

It was quite a good book actually with just the right amount of mystery and forethought. I soon zoned everything out as I became lost in a world of Greek Mythology, the sadness of losing a mother, and the nervous excitement of my first quest. That is, until Mrs. Weasly called everyone for dinner.

After dinner, everyone went to bed, as it had been a long day.

~The Next Day~

After I woke up, I decided to go pop into my parents house and pick up some more clothes, as it seemed Ron wouldn't let me leave anytime soon.

I walked outside of the Burrow and apparated to my parents house. After the familiar sensation of being squeezed through a too-small tube, i appeared in my parents living room.

"Hermione!" My mother exclaimed.

"Hello mum!" I said, "I'm going to stay at Ron's for a while so I just came to pack some clothes."

"Alright then dear, but only because I know how responsible you are. Don't be afraid to come talk to me if you have any ... dreams again" My mother replied, worriedly. Everyone was at that point after the war where we just pretended that everything was alright, even though it most definitely wasn't.

I gave my mum a little smile, "I will." I walked up to my room to pack.

~Time Lapse~

"Hermione!" My mother called up the steps, "Will you go pick up some groceries? The list is on the kitchen table."

"Sure mum!" I called back, "I'm going to walk there so give me a second to unpack my coat."

~On The Walk To The Store~

As I pulled my coat closer to my body in a fruitless attempt to stay warm, I passed a store with a television out front.

I heard the newscaster say, "Yes, Jim. I have a report that Perseus Jackson has been spotted in Rome, and there has now been sightings of him near Long Island, New York. We urge watchers to call in to this number if he is spotted..." A number came up on the screen. I froze in my tracks. Perseus Jackson! That was the name from my book! This had to be a coincidence... right? After the... war, I wasn't so sure I still believed in coincidences anymore.

I hurried to the store, grabbed the groceries I needed, and rushed home. Once I was home, I unpacked the groceries, placing them in their allotted slots, and rushed to the computer. I Googled Perseus Jackson. Almost immediately reports came up about him being a well-known terrorist, prone to blowing up school buildings, since age 12. Of course, there was also a few mentions about the book series.

I rushed out the door with my bags, saying a quick goodbye to my parents, and apparated to the Burrow. I barged through the door, causing Mrs. Weasly to enter the room curiously, wiping her hands on a dish towel.

"Hermione, dear, are you alright?" Mrs. Weasly inquired?

I hesitated, "I'm not quite sure Mrs. Weasly." I answered honestly, "I just need to talk to Ron, and Harry, and Ginny I suppose."

Mrs. Weasly smiled at me, "Alright. Just remember you can always talk to me."

"Of course" I responded, smiling warmly at her. I then climbed the stairs to Ginny's room and dropped my bag off. Then, I climbed some more steps to Harry's and Ron's room

"Hey, 'Mione." Ron said, coming over to give me a peck on the cheek. Harry and Ginny sat next to each other on Harry's bed so I sat next to Ron on his bed.

Ginny looked at me curiously, "You okay, Hermione?"

I bit my lip before answering, "Not really actually. Remember that book I was reading yesterday?"

Ron interrupted, "Yeah. What was it called again Perry Johnson and The Lightening?" (A/N I had to do that! I just couldn't resist!)

I sighed in exasperation "No, you idiot it's called Percy Jackson and The Lightening Thief, but that's not the point. I was walking to the store today,- "

"By yourself?" Ron interrupted angrily, "Hermione! You could have been attacked!"

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself Ronald." I spat, bitterly, "Now, I would appreciate it if you would let me finish my story uninterrupted. Anyway, I was walking to the store when I heard a newscaster say something about Perseus Jackson being a known terrorist since age 12."

Harry looked at me nervously, "What are you saying?"

I took a shaky breath, "What I'm saying is I think the books are real and I want to find them."

Harry and Ron both looked at me and nodded. Ginny sighed and started to walk out of the room.

Harry looked at her confused and said, "Ginny? Where are you going?"

Ginny looked up, "Aren't you guys going on another 'adventure'?"

"Yeah?" Harry said slowly.

"Well then why would you want me around?"

I blinked, "Why wouldn't we?"

She looked at me, "You guys never included me before, so why would you start now?"

I chuckled, "The only reason we never included you was because we didn't want you to get hurt! This 'adventure' doesn't appear to be particularly dangerous. Besides, it'll be a nice change having another girl around."

Ginny grinned widely as she sat down next Harry again. "Alright then!" She turned to me, "Did you say that there were books about this kid?"

I nodded, "Why?"

She raised her eyebrows at me, "I think we should read them to get to know our 'enemy' better."

I gave her a look, "See what I mean? You're already making yourself more useful than Ron over here."

Ginny giggled as Ron looked up and protested, "Hey!"

I gave him a peck on the cheek, "Kidding. I'll be right back. I'm just going to get the books."

I raced down the stairs, into Ginny's room, and back up the stairs.

"Alright. I'll read first and we can rotate every chapter. sound good?"

Everyone nodded as I began,

**Chapter 1: I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-algebra Teacher **

**Look, I didn't want to be a demigod...**


	2. Chapter 2

******Chapter 2:**

* * *

**Annabeth's POV:**

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"Please, Percy." I begged, using the puppy dog eyes. Unfortunately, they didn't work as Percy just chuckled.

"Percy, why in Hades' name won't you just take me to the library?" I said exasperatedly, running a hand through my hair.

"Because it's boring there," He complained, "There's nothing there besides books that make my brain hurt."

I smirked at him, "Well, I didn't want it to come to this but," He gulped and looked at me nervously, "I'm gonna kick your ass if you don't take me."

He jumped out of his chair and said, "Right this way, m'lady" I smirked at him as I went outside, grabbing my coat on the way.

~At The Library~

"Annabeth!" Percy whispered urgently, "Can we please go now?"

I looked up at him- it was annoying since I used to be taller than him- and asked, "Why?"

"Because," He said, looking desperate, "the fish keep talking to me and they're getting annoying!"

I chuckled and said, "Seaweed Brain. Sure. Give me one sec to check these books out." He nodded and, eyeing the fish tank warily, made his way over to the doors.

I smirked at him and made my way over to the counter, "Excuse me, ma'am?" I asked the lady politely, "May I please check these books out?" She snatched the books from my hands as she scanned them under my library card.

After she was finished she said, "Here you go dear. Now run along. I'm sure Chiron misses his favorite student."

I frantically gestured for Percy to come over here and said, "Excuse me?"

The woman looked at me, "Poor, poor Annabeth. She doesn't even recognize me."

All of a sudden, it clicked. "Medea!" I gasped, "What are you doing here?"

She grinned maliciously at me, "Why my dear, I thought that was quite obvious. I'm here to make sure you and your 'boyfriend' over here never leave my lair."

"Your lair?" I asked, confused, "Wait, you mean the library?"

That's great, I thought sarcastically to myself, I literately led us right into a trap.

All of a sudden, I noticed Percy sneaking up behind Medea, ready to deliver the final blow. All I needed to do was keep her occupied.

Just then, Medea pressed a button on the keyboard and a deep red liquid fell directly in front of me. I jumped back as it acted like an acid, creating a hole in the floor. At this point Percy was directly behind her.

Medea pressed another button on her keyboard. This time, a sickly, pale green substance fell from the ceiling and hit right behind Percy. As the green liquid hit the ground, it turned to steam and shaped itself into the form of the Minotaur, about to kill Percy.

"Percy! Behind you!" I shrieked, drawing my drakon bone sword. Both Percy and Medea turned around, giving me the chance to lop Medea's head off.

Unfortunately, Percy was struggling against the Minotaur because every time he would kill it, 2 new smoky Minotaurs would appear, sort of like a hydra except I had no idea how to keep them dead.

I quickly ran over to the computer was that Medea had used to create the smoke creatures in the first place and saw that there was a search bar. I couldn't figure out was to search because, as far as I knew, this was a brand new creation.

I spared a quick glance at Percy and cursed, "Di immortals!"

There were now 16 Minotaur-like-figures and Percy was struggling not to kill them. I cursed again and turned back to the computer. I didn't have much time to think of possible names so instead I searched for the button to view the search history.

I found the button and scrolled through the history. There were so many searches that it would'v taken years just to figure out what they do, but I didn't have that time. I scrolled quickly down the page to the most recent search, τέρας ομίχλη- mist monster.

I re-searched τέρας ομίχλη and clicked disable. There was a hiss and the Minotaurs dissipated and Percy collapsed to the floor in exhaustion.

I slumped in the chair and breathed a sigh of relief before hopping out and grabbing Percy, "C'mon. We're going to have company if we don't hurry."

He sighed, but got up. I grabbed the books I had wanted to check out earlier and ran.

As we ran towards Percy's house, I heard a hiss and saw several dracaene following us. I cursed- I seem to be doing a lot of that recently- and ran faster, Percy right next to me.

Once we reached the house, we realized that we had no idea how to get in and the door was locked.

"Do you know where the key is?" I asked Percy. He just stared at me, utterly perplexed.

I rolled my eyes, "Seaweed Brain," I muttered, " Do. You. Know. Where. Your. Mother. Puts. The. Hidden. Key." I said slowly, carefully pronouncing each word.

A look of realization crossed his face as he reached under the door mat, grabbed the key, unlocked the door, and carefully re-hid the key.

~Later That Day~

"Truth or dare... Annabeth," Nico smirked.

"Um... truth?" I said, but it sounded more like a question. Thalia, Nico, Percy, Grover, Clarrise, Jason, Piper, Hazel, Frank, Leo, Calypso, and I were playing Truth or Dare in the Poseidon Cabin at Camp Half-Blood.

Nico's face fell, "Really, Annie? You couldn't pick dare just once this entire game?"

I growled at him, "Nope and if you value your life, you will not call me Annie."

He held his hands up in defense as everyone else held back snickers. "Fine! I've got an okay Truth as well." He smirked devilishly, "When did you start to like Percy?"

My face blushed beet red as Percy looked at me intently. "Umm... pass?"

Thalia smirked, "Sorry, Annie, but you've got to answer it. I must say, I'm rather interested in this, myself."

"Since we were twelve." I muttered quietly so that no one could hear me, but so that I did, technically, answer the question.

Unfortunately, It wasn't quiet enough as Leo, who was sitting next to me, burst out laughing and said, "Since you were twelve?"

Grover cheered, "I knew it!"

"Alright! My turn! Percy. Truth or dare." I said, quickly changing the subject as everyone burst into laughter.

"Dare." He said confidently. Little did he know that I had the perfect dare for him.

I smirked and his confidence wavered a bit, "I dare you to read all 7 of the Harry Potter books."

His eyes widened in disbelief, "Were.. were those the humongus books you got from the library yesterday?"

I smirked, "Yup"

"But my dyslexia..." He pleaded weakly, giving my the cute baby seal eyes.

I sighed, "Fine I'll read them to you but you've got to answer a 10 question quiz after each book."

He frowned but then grinned widely, knowing that was the best he would get, and gave me a peck on the cheek.

"Thalia, Truth or Dare?" He asked innocently, but anyone could see that he was planning something in those mischievous, broken eyes of his.

Thalia looked up nervously, "Truth" she said, thinking that his plan revolved around a dare, but he only grinned wider.

"Have you ever liked a boy and, if so, who was it?" Percy asked cheekily.

"Um... eh... mm... wellIlikedLukeuntilhebetryedusthenalltheloveturnedtohateandnowIcan'tlikeanyonehahayeah." She said quickly, finding a sudden interest in her arrows and blushing beet red.

Percy's eyebrows creased as he tried to decipher what she said. I was bout to announce who it was because, being a daughter of Athena, I had been able to decipher the seemingly encrypted message when Piper squealed.

"Eep! You liked Luke Castellan!" Piper shrieked, overly happy for someone who had finished a war 2 months ago.

You see, we were all at that point where we pretended that everything was okay, that all our friends were still alive, that most of Camp Half-Blood wasn't in ruins, and that Percy and I weren't broken beyond repair from our time in Tartarus.

Anyway, Piper looked up and shouted at the sky, "Mom! Please stop influencing my thoughts!"

Piper started grumbling about annoying moms and such.

Thalia cleared her throat awkwardly, "Anyway, Percy, Truth or dare."

"Truth." Percy said as Thalia grinned like she'd won the lottery.

"Percy, how long have you liked Annabeth."

"Um... same." He said, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Same?" Asked Thalia, utterly bewildered.

I rolled my eyes at my boyfriend's foolishness, "He means, he's liked me since I've liked him."

There was a chorus of aww's from Piper and Leo. Piper looked at the sky irritated, so I assumed that her mother had influenced her thoughts again, and Leo was, of course, just trying to annoy us.

All of a sudden, Leo cowered and looked away, so I assumed that Percy was giving him his deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare. I turned around and gave Percy a peck on the lips.

"Everyone... truth or dare?" Percy grinned maliciously.

Nico immediately said, "Dare."

I was about to protest when Percy interrupted me, "Dare? Alright. I dare all of you to read the... whatever the books were that Annabeth's making me read."

Clarisse stood up angrily, "Really Prissy? I am NOT going to read those stupid books!"

Percy simply looked up at her, "Really Clarisse? I've never known you turn down a dare before."

Clarisse huffed and sat back down, "Fine, but we're starting now."

I looked at Percy and he shrugged so I went to the Athena cabin to grab the books.

When I got back I saw everyone getting comfortable- Clarrise was sitting on a chair, irritated. Hazel curled up next to Frank, with her head on his chest, next to Leo who had Calypso sitting in his lap and was playing with her hair. Leo ad Calypso were next to Thalia who was stretched out across the floor, leaving Nico with almost no space next to Piper who was sitting next to Jason. Jason was, in turn, next to Grover, who was next to Percy. There was an empty space in between Percy and Hazel where I say with my head in Percy's lap.

Once I was comfortable, I opened up to page one,

**"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer 's Stone.**

**Chapter 1:The Boy Who Lived**

**Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much….**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

* * *

**Hermione's POV:**

* * *

**Chapter 1: I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-algebra Teacher**

**Look I didn't want to be a half-blood.**

**If your reading this because you might be one, my advice is; close this book right now. Believe whatever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life.**

**Being a half-blood is dangerous.**

The four of us exchanged glances. I doubt that being a half-blood is more dangerous than being a witch/wizard.

I**t's scary. Most of the time it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways.**

Ginny was fuming, "Is it so dangerous that you have to, basically kill the second most powerful wizard of all time seven times, virtually unaided? Because that's what my boyfriend did!"

Rob cleared his throat, "Ginny, we agree, but... you do realize your yelling at a book, right?"

Ginny blushed, "Just keep reading." She muttered.

**If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe this never happened.**

**But if you recognize yourself in these pages- if you feel something stirring inside- so reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.**

"Who's they and why on Earth would they 'come for you'? " Ron wondered aloud.

Ginny leaned over and smacked him on the head, "If you would stop interrupting Hermione we would probably find out!"

Ron then did the mature thing and stuck his tongue out at her before turning his attention back to me with eyes full of curiosity.

**My name is Percy Jackson.**

**I'm twelve years old. Until a few months ago, I was a boarding student at Yancy Academy, a private school for troubled kids in upstate New York.**

"This starts when he's 12!" Ginny gasped disbelievingly.

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, "It started at 11 for us, but if you really want to get technical about it, it started, for me at least, at age 1."

**Am I a troubled kid?**

"Like he would admit that," Ron snorted.

**Yeah. You could say that**

"And I stand corrected," He grumbled.

**I could start at any point in my short, miserable life to prove it, but things really started going bad last May, when our sixth-grade class took a field trip to Manhattan - twenty-eight mental-case kids and two teachers on a yellow school bus, heading to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look at ancient Greek and Roman stuff.**

Harry and Ron both shuddered.

**I know - it sounds like torture- most Yancy field trips were.**

**But Mr. Brunner, our Latin teacher, was leading this trip, so I had hopes.**

**Mr. Brunner was this middle-aged guy in a motorized wheelchair. He had thinning hair and a scruffy beard and a frayed tweed jacket, which always smelled like coffee. You wouldn't think he'd be cool, but he told stories and jokes and let us play games in class. He also has this awesome collection of Roman armor and weapons, so he was the only teacher who's class didn't put me to sleep.**

**I hoped the trip would be okay. At least, I hoped that for once I wouldn't get in trouble.**

**Boy, was I wrong.**

**See, bad things happen to me on field trips. Like at my fifth-grade school, when we went to the Saratoga battlefield, I had this accident with a Revolutionary War cannon. I wasn't for the school bus, but of course I got expelled anyway. And before that, at my fourth-grade school, when we took a behind-the-scenes tour of the Marine World shark pool, I sort of hit the wrong lever on the catwalk and our class took and unplanned swim.**

"This stuff... is... gold," Harry gasped in between laughs.

**And the time before that . . . Well, you get the idea.**

"No!" Ron whined, "I want to hear more!"

**This trip I was determined to be good.**

"I never really got a chance to try this 'being good' because all of my years at Hogwarts were either with this idiot over here causing trouble," Ginny complained, jerking her head towards Harry, "or when I was trying to save Hogwarts from Voldemort."

Harry chuckled, "Well, Hogwarts was technically never under Voldemort's control because Snape was on the 'good' side all along, but the effort is appreciated. Speaking of Hogwarts, are we going to go back to 'finish our education'? Ron and Hermione, we only have one year left but, Ginny, you have two. What do you guys think?"

We had all received letters inviting us back to Hogwarts for a repeat of last year because it was deemed that 'the teachers of last year were unacceptable. Taking in account the teachers and events of the previous year, we have deemed it necessary for all students to return to Hogwarts for this year. These students will be grouped with the year that they were in last year and the first years will have last year's first years as well as this year's first years. Both groups shall be sorted since there was no sorting last year. If you intend to join us on September first at King's Cross, the following books will be required. If you shall not be joining us, please send us an owl no later than August 31.'

We have around 2 months to decide, but this war has taught us something; time is priceless and should not be wasted.

"I mean," Harry started again, "I love Hogwarts and all, don't get me wrong, but I just don't think that we're ready to see all the destruction and to face all the attention yet. I think it's just too soon."

I bit my lip, "Yes it is rather soon, however, getting back into our normal, mundane routines may help us overcome the shock."

"Hermione," Ginny whispered, "I don't know if I'll be able to go back there. The only things that I'll ever be able to notice are the places that people died or the places were Fr-Fred pulled his pranks."

I sighed in frustration and I almost wanted to break down and cry, like Ginny was doing right now, into Harry's chest, but I knew I had to be strong. The three of them all looked to me for answers and if I didn't have them, I had to at least act like I had them or knew how to get them. That was something else this war had taught me- strength is only an illusion.

All of a sudden, I felt the hot tears pouring down my cheeks.

" 'Mione? Oh, Hermione, come here." Ron said quietly.

I simply sobbed louder and curled up on his lap as he stroked my hair.

"Dears," Mrs. Weasly said, opening the door, "I have- oh my." she stopped, taking in our appearance- Harry with tears dripping down his face, holding onto a sobbing Ginny and Ron with red and puffy eyes from crying too much holding onto me. I could only imagine what I looked like although I could feel the tears cascading down my face like a never ending waterfall.

"Why don't you just come down when you're ready," Mrs. Weasly suggested softly, as if we might break if she spoke too loudly, "I have dinner but you can take all the time you need."

"Thank you Mrs. Weasly," I whispered, my voice wavering slightly, "It means alot."

She gave me a fleeting smile, a sign that she was going to start crying soon, a swept out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"Why don't we read about this Percy Jackson guy," Ginny sniffled, wiping her eyes, "That way we can focus on his problems instead of ours."

**All the way to the city, I put up with Nancy Bobofit, the freckly, redheaded kleptomaniac girl, hitting my best friend Grover in the back of the head with chunks of peanut butter-and-ketchup sandwich.**

**Grover was an easy target. He was scrawny. He cried when he got frustrated. He must've been held back several grades, because he was the only sixth grader with acne and the start of a wispy beard on his chin. On top of all that, he was crippled. He had a note excusing him from PE for the rest of his life because he had some kind of a muscular disease in his legs. He walked funny, like every step hurt him, but don't let that fool you. You should've seen him run when it was enchilada day in the cafeteria.**

**Anyway, Nancy Bobofit was throwing wads of sand which that stuck in his curly brown hair, and she knew I couldn't do anything back to her because I was already on probation. The headmaster had threatened me with death by in-school suspension if anything bad, embarrassing, or even mildly entertaining happened on this trip.**

I knew that , normally, either Harry or Ron (probably Ron) would make some sarcastic comment that would make everyone laugh, but no one was up for it. Either way, it was getting harder and harder to make any of us laugh, especially George- he had all of the mirrors in the house removed, for obvious reasons.

**"I'm going to kill her," I mumbled.**

Everyone winced at the careless use of the word 'kill'.

**Grover tried to calm me down. "It's ok. I like peanut butter." **

"Yeah, but do you like it with ketchup and in your hair?" Ginny mumbled, wiping her eyes.

**He dodged another piece of Nancy's lunch.**

**"That's it." I started to get up, but Grover pulled me back to my seat.**

**"You're already on probation," he reminded me. "You know who'll get blamed if anything happens"**

**Looking back on it, I wish is decked Nancy Bobofit right then and there. In-school suspension would've been nothing compared to the mess I was about to get myself into.**

"It can't be as bad as any of our messes," Ron sighed, probably reminiscing about our years at Hogwarts.

**Mr. Brunner led the museum tour.**

**He rode up front in his wheelchair, guiding us through big echoey galleries, past marble statues and glass cases full of really old black and orange pottery.**

**It blew my mind that this stuff had survived for two thousand, three thousand years.**

More, I thought to myself as I continued reading.

**He gathered us around a thirteen-foot-tall stone column with a big sphinx on the top, and started telling us how it was a grave marker, a stele, for a girl about our age. He told us the carvings on the sides. I was trying to listen to what he had to say, because it was kind of interesting, but everybody around me was talking, and every time I too them to shut up, the other teacher chaperone, Mrs. Dodds, would give me the evil eye.**

**Mrs. Dodds was this little math teacher from Georgia who always wore a black leather jacket, even though she was fifty years old. She looked mean enough to ride a Harley right into your locker. She had come to Yancy halfway through the year, when our last teacher had a nervous breakdown.**

**From her first day, Mrs. Dodds loved Nancy Bobofit and figured I was devil spawn. She would point her crooked finger at me and say, "Now, honey," real sweet, and I knew I was going to get after-school detention for a month.**

Fred, everyone thought immediately.

**One time, after she'd made me erase answers out of old math workbooks until midnight, I told Grover I didn't think Mrs. Dodds was human. He looked at me, real serious, and said, "You're absolutely right."**

**Mr. Brunner kept talking about Greek funeral art.**

**Finally, Nancy Nobody snickered something about the naked guy on the stele, and I turned around and said, "Will you shut up?"**

**It came out louder than I meant it to.**

Ron was the only one who cracked a smile, and even then there was only the barest trace of one. Nevertheless, it was there.

**The whole group laughed. Mr. Brunner stopped his story.**

**"Mr. Jackson," he said, "did you have a comment?"**

**My face was totally red. I said, "No, sir."**

**Mr. Brunner pointed to one of the pictures on the stele. "Perhaps you'll tell us what this picture represents?"**

**I looked at the carving, and felt a flush of relief, because I actually recognized it. "That's Kronos eating his kids, right?"**

**"Yes," Mr. Brunner said, obviously not satisfied. "And he did this because . . ."**

**"Well . . ." I racked my brain to remember. "Kronos was the king god, and - "**

**"God?" Mr. Brunner asked.**

**"Titan," I corrected myself. "And . . . he didn't trust his kids, who were the gods. So, um, Kronos ate them, right? But bis wife hid baby Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to eat instead. And later, when Zeus grew up, he tricked his dad, Kronos, into barfing up his brother and sisters - "**

**"Eeew!" said one of the girls behind me.**

**" - and so there was this big battle between the gods and the Titans," I continued, "and the gods won."**

Ginny looked at me, eyebrows raised, "Wasn't that one of the biggest wars that has ever happened?"

I nodded my head in confirmation

"And he just summed it up in one sentence?" Ginny gaped.

Ron whistled, "Kids got talent. Sounds a bit like me."

I snorted, looking up at him, "More like Harry. I'd turn in large report, Harry would turn in a report that had the bare minimum, you wouldn't ever turn yours in, and Ginny would generally be somewhere between Harry and I, although most likely closer to me."

The other two exchanged slightly amused glances, showing that I was right.

**Some snickers from the group.**

**Behind me, Nancy Bobofit mumbled to a friend, "Like we're going to use this in real life. Like it's going to say on our job applications, 'Please explain why Kronos ate his kids.'"**

**"And why, Mr. Jackson," Brunner said, "to paraphrase Miss Bobofit's excellent question, does this matter in real life?"**

**"Busted," Grover muttered.**

**"Shut up," Nancy hissed, her face even brighter red than her hair.**

**At least Nancy got packed too. Mr. Brunner was the only one who caught her saying anything wrong. He had radar ears.**

**I thought about the question and shrugged, "I don't know, sir."**

**"I see." Mr. Brunner looked disappointed. "Well, half credit Mr. Jackson. Zeus did indeed feed Kronos a mixture of mustard and wine, which made him disgorge his other five children, who, of course, being immortal gods, had been living and growing up completely undigested in the Titan's stomach. The gods defeated their father, sliced him to pieces with his own scythe, and scattered his remains in Tartarus, the darkest part of the Underworld. On that happy note, it's time for lunch. Mrs. Dodds, would you lead us back outside?"**

**The class drifted off, the girls holding their stomachs, the guys pushing each other around and acting like doofuses.**

Both Ginny and I gave out boyfriend's pointed looks, to which they simply responded with absolute confusion.

**Grover and I were about to follow when Mr. Brunner said, "Mr. Jackson."**

**I knew that was coming.**

**I told Grover to keep going. Then in I turned toward Mr. Brunner. "Sir?"**

**Mr. Brunner had this look that wouldn't let you go- intense brown eyes that could've been a thousand years old and had seen everything.**

"Forshadowing," Ginny said, waggling her eyebrows.

Apparently we were going to completely disregard the little, ahem, scene earlier.

**"You must learn the answer to my question," Mr. Brunner told me.**

**"About the Titans?"**

**"About real life. And how your studies apply to it."**

**"Oh."**

**"What you learn from me," he said, "is vitally important. I expect you to treat it as such. I will accept only the best from you, Percy Jackson." **

"Why?" Giinny muttered, almost inaudibly.

**I wanted to get angry, this guy pushed me so hard.**

**I mean, sure, it was kind of cool on tournament days, when he dressed up in a suit of Roman armor and shouted: "What ho!" and challenged us sword-point against chalk, to run to the board and name every Greek and Roman person that ever lived , and their mother, and what god they worshipped.**

All of our eyes widened.

"That's pretty harsh." Ron said, voicing our thoughts aloud. His voice wavered slightly, but that was the only sign that he had been crying- the redness around his eyes had faded slightly so that he now only seemed overly tired, which he was. Nightmares had been keeping everyone awake. We'd wake up sweating and shaking, crying out names of dead friends and family. Harry's were the worst though. Always have been and probably always will be.

**But Mr. Brunner expected me to be as good as everyone else, despite the fact that I have dyslexia attention deficit disorder and I had never made above a C- in my life. No- he didn't expect me to be **_**as good:**_ **he expected me to be **_**better. **_**And I just couldn't learn all those names and facts, much less spell them correctly.**

**I mumbled something about trying harder, while Mr. Brunner took one sad look at the stele, like he'd been at this girl's funeral.**

**He told me to go outside and eat my lunch.**

**The class gathered on the front steps of the museum, where we could watch the foot traffic along Fifth Avenue. **

Harry groaned.

"What?" Ginny asked.

"It sounds like torture."

**Overhead, a huge storm was brewing, with clouds blacker than I'd ever seen over the city. I figured maybe it was global warming or something, because the weather all across New York state had been weird since Christmas. We'd had massive snow storms, flooding, wildfires from lightening strikes. I wouldn't have been surprised if this was a hurricane blowing in.**

**Nobody else seemed to notice. Some of the guys were pelting pigeons with Lunchables crackers. Nancy Bobofit was trying to pickpocket something out of a lady's purse and, of course, Mrs. Dodds wasn't seeing a thing.**

**Grover and I sat on the edge of the fountain, away from the others. We thought that maybe if we did that, everybody wouldn't know we were from that school- the school for loser freaks who couldn't make it elsewhere.**

**"Detention?" Grover asked.**

**"Nah," I said, "Not from Brunner. I just wish he'd lay off me sometimes. I mean- I'm not a genius."**

"That's you, Ron." Ginny smirked.

Ron then did the mature thing, sticking his tongue out at her.

**Grover didn't say anything for a while. Then, when I thought he was going to give me some deep philosophical comment to make me feel better, he said, "Can I have your apple?"**

**I didn't have much of an appetite, so I let him take it.**

**I watched the stream of cabs going down Fifth Avenue, and I thought about my mom's apartment, only a little ways uptown from where we sat. I hadn't seen her since Christmas. I wanted so bad to jump in taxi and head home. She'd hug me and be glad to see me, but she'd be disappointed, too. She'd send me right back to Yancy, remind me that I had to try harder, even if this was my sixth school in six years and I was probably going to be kicked out again. I wouldn't be able to stand that sad look she'd give me. **

Harry's shoulder's sagged, understandable, of course,considering the way he grew up.

**Mr. Brunner parked his wheelchair at the base of the handicapped ramp. He ate celery while he read a paperback novel. A red umbrella stuck up from the back of his chair, making it look like a motorized cafe table.**

**I was about to unwrap my sandwhich when Nancy Bobofit appeared in front of me with her ugly friends- I guess she'd gotten tired of stealing from tourists- and dumped her half-eaten lunch in Grover's lap.**

Harry's face contorted into an extremely angry expression and then a mask of calm.

**"Oops." She grinned at me with her crooked teeth. Her freckles were orange as if somebody had spray-painted her face with liquid Cheetos.**

**I tried to stay cool. The school counselor had told me a million times, "Count to ten, get control of your temper." But I was so mad my mind went blank. A wave roared in my ears.**

**I don't remember touching her, but the next thing I knew, Nancy was sitting on her butt in the fountain, screaming, "Percy pushed me!"**

**Mrs. Dodds materialized next to us.**

**Some of the kids were whispering, "Did you see- "**

**" -the water- "**

**" -like it grabbed her- "**

**I didn't know what they were talking about. All I knew was that I was in trouble again.**

**As soon as Mrs. Dodds was sure that poor little Nancy was okay, promising to get her a new shirt at the museum gift shop, etc., etc., Mrs. Dodds turned on me. There was a triumphant fire in her eyes, as if I'd done something she'd been waiting for all semester. "Now, honey- "**

**"I know," I grumbled, "A month erasing workbooks."**

"Nope," Ginny said disbelieving, "he did _not_ just guess his punishment. You never do that. Rule number 3, according to George an- George."

**That wasn't the right thing to say.**

"See? I told you"

**"Come with me," Mrs. Dodds said.**

**"Wait!" Grover yelled, "It was me. **_**I **_**pushed her."**

"Why did he do that?" Ron mused aloud.

**I stared athim stunned. I couldn't believe he was trying to cover for me. Mrs. Dodds scared Grover to death.**

**She glared at him so hard his whiskery chin trembled.**

**"I don't think so, Mr. Underwood," she said.**

**"But- "**

**"You-will-stay-here."**

**Grover looked at me desperately.**

**"It's ok, man," I told him, "Thanks for trying."**

**"Honey," Mrs. Dodds barked. "Now."**

**Nancy Bobofit smirked. **

"I really don't like her," Ginny said conversationally, "What about you guys?"

I chuckled, "Really, Ginny?"

She smiled innocently at me in return.

**I gave her my deluxe I'll-kill-you-later stare. I then turned to face Mrs. Dodds, but she wasn't there. She was standing at the museum entrance,way at the top of the steps, gesturing impatiently at me to come on.**

**How'd she get there so fast?**

**I have moments like that a lot, where my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something**, **as if apuzzle piece fell out of the universe and left me staring at the blank place behind it. The school counselor told me this was part of the ADHD, my brain misinterpreting things.**

**I wasn't so sure.**

**I went after Mrs. Dodds. **

"If you think that there's something weird about her, why in the name of Merlin's saggy gym shorts would you follow her!" I interrupted myself. Harry, Ron and Ginny just stared at me as I awkwardly cleared my throat and continued reading.

**Halfway up the steps, I glanced back at Grover. He was looking like, cutting his eyes between me and Mr. Brunner, like he wanted Mr. Brunner to notice what was going on, but Mr. Brunner was absorbed in his novel.**

**I looked back up. Mrs. Dodds had disappeared again. She was now inside the building, at the end of the entrance hall.**

**Okay, I thought. She's going to make me buy a new shirt for Nancy at the gift shop.**

**But apparently that wasn't the plan.**

**I followed her deeper into the museum. When I finally caught up to her, we were back in the Greek and Roman section.**

**Except for us, the gallery was empty.**

"Creepy." Ron muttered, so quiet I almost didn't hear him.

**Mrs. Dodds stood with her arms crossed in front of a big marble frieze of th Greek gods. She was making this weird noise in her throught, like growling.**

**Even without the noise, I would've been nervous. It's weird being alone with a teacher, especially Mrs. Dodds. Something about th way she looked at the frieze, as if she wanted to pulverize it . . .**

"**You've been giving us problems, honey," she said.**

**I did the safe thing. I said, "Yes, ma'am."**

**She tugged on the cuffs of her leather jacket. "Did you really think you would get away with it?"**

**The look on her eyes was beyond mad. It was evil.**

**She's a teacher, I thought nervously. It's not like she's going to hurt me.**

**I said, "I'll- I'll try harder, ma'am."**

**Thunder shook the building.**

"**We are not fools, Percy Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "It was only a matter of time before we found you out. Confess, and you will suffer less pain."**

**I didn't know what she was talking about.**

**All I could think of was that the teachers must've found the illegal stash of candy I'd been selling out of my dorm room. Or maybe they'd realized I got my essay on **_**Tom Sawyer**_ **from the internet without ever reading the book and now they were going to take away my grade. Or worse, they were going to make me read the book.**

"Gold!" Harry and Ron burst out laughing. I waited for them to calm down before continuing.

"**Well?" she demanded.**

"**Ma'am, I don't . . ."**

"**Your time is up," she hissed.**

**Then the weirdest thing happened. Her eyes began to glow like barbecue coals. Her fingers stretched, turning into talons. Her jacket melted into large, leathery wings. She wasn't human. She was a snickered hag with bat wings and claws and a mouth full of yellow gang, and she was about to slice me to ribbons.**

**Then things got evenstranger.**

"How?" asked Ron in disbelief as Ginny and I gaped.

**Mr. Brunner, who'd been out in front of the museum a minute before, wheeled his chair into the doorway of the gallery, holding a pen in his hand.**

"**What ho, Percy!" he shouted, and tossed the pen through the air.**

**Mrs. Dodds lunged at me.**

**With a yelp, I dodged and felt talons slash the air next to my ear. I snatched the ballpoint pen out of the air, but when it hit my hand, it wasn't a pen anymore. It was a pen- Mr. Brunner's bronze sword, which he always used on tournamenet day. **

**Mrs. Dodds spun toward me with a murderous look in her eyes. **

**My knees were jelly. My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the sword.**

**She snarled, "Die, honey!"**

**And she flew straight at me.**

**Absolute terror ran through body. I did the only thing that came naturally: I swung the sword. **

"What?" Ron, Ginny, and I gasped in astonishment.

**The metal blade ran through my shoulder and passes clean through her body as if she were made of water. Hisss!**

**Mrs. Dodds was a sandcastle in a power fan. She exploded into yellow powder, vaporized on the spot, leaving nothing but the smell of sulfur and a dying screech and a chill of evil in the air, as if those two glowing red were still watching me.**

**I was alone. **

**There was a ballpoint pen in my hand.**

**Mr. Brunner wasn't there. Nobody was there but me.**

**My hands were still trembling. My lunch must have been contaminated with magic mushrooms or something.**

**Had I imagined the whole thing?**

**I went back outside.**

**It had started to rain.**

**Grover was sitting by the fountain, a museum map tented over his head. Nancy Bobofit was still standing there, soaked from her swim in the fountain, grumbling to her ugly friends. When she saw me, she said, "I hope Mrs. Kerr whipped your butt."**

**I said, "Who?"**

**"Our teacher. Duh!"**

**I blinked. We had no teacher named Mrs. Kerr. I asked Nancy what she was talking about. **

Ginny and I had our eyebrows furrowed as Ron looked totally absorbed in the story and Harry looked concerned.

**She just rolled her eyes and turned away.**

**I asked Grover where Mrs. Dodds was.**

**He said, "Who?"**

**But he paused first, and he wouldn't look at me, so I thought he was messing with me.**

**"Not funny, man," I told him, "This is serious."**

**Thunder boomed overhead. **

"I feel like there's always thunder when something important's happening." Ginny mumbled as Harry and I nodded in agreement. Ron just looked lost.

**I saw Mr. Brunner sitting under his red umbrella, reading his book, as if he'd never moved.**

**I went over to him.**

**He looked up, a little distracted. "Ah, that would be my pen. Please bring your own writing utensil in the future, Mr. Jackson."**

**I handed it over. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.**

**"Sir," I said, "where's Mrs. Dodds?"**

**He stared at me blankly. "Who?"**

"This is creepy." Ron muttered.

**"The other chaperone. Mrs. Dodds. The pre-algebra teacher."**

**He frowned and sat forward, looking mildly concerned. "Percy, there is no Mrs. Dodds on this trip. As far as I know, there has never been a Mrs. Dodds at Yancy Academy. Are you feeling alright?"**

"That's the end." I said quietly, closing the book. "We should probably go eat before your mum has a fit, Ron and Ginny."

We all walked downstairs, following Ginny, but I noticed that Harry stayed behind and gave the book a warning look, as if he was worried about it leaving or something. I shook my head, but I continued wondering as we walked downstairs, Did this scare Harry? or was he worried about it revealing something dangerous and important? I cleared these thoughts from my head. Only time would tell and I was hoping it would do just that.


End file.
